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Bears’ push too late to overtake Regals
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · October 30, 2024
West Branch kept creeping up on Regina, but the No. 8 Regals held them off Oct. 23 to win the Class 2A Region 8 quarterfinal round to advance.
The Bears finished the season 6-25 while the Regals improved to 22-14 and advanced to the semifinal round.
With set scores at 25-12, 25-16, and 25-17, West Branch only got better as the night went on at Regina High School, but not enough to bump the favored home team.
“We knew going in that we were the underdogs, unfortunately,” Co-Head Coach Becky Hosier said. “We were hoping to use our middle game as an advantage. But that didn’t work out well with us.”
The coach said junior Alyssa Vargason “stepped up” in that middle attack.
“She had a great game,” Hosier said.
The coach said the Bears needed more consistent hitting, she said.
As for the Bears’ improving their scores in each set, Hosier said that West Branch pushed to shore up certain parts of its game.
“We were changing it up. We were looking at where our weaknesses were and we would change it up each time to see if that would help give us a little bit of momentum,” she said.
Co-Head Coach Monica Tylee said it seemed like the team found their postseason resolve, too.
“I think our nerves settled a little bit,” she said.
The coaches said they knew 2024 would “be a rebuilding year.”
“We lost our whole starting lineup” from 2023, minus Falco and some varsity time from junior Dani Crutchley and Vargason, Hosier said. “This is a young group. They now have more experience with the varsity level, so next year it will be that same group. So, hopefully, having more experience at the varsity level will help next year and we’ll have better success in the season.”
Tylee wanted to give attention to sophomore Ava Burnett for her performance.
“Ava Burnett deserves a shout-out,” the coach said. “She’s really stepped it up for us at the end of this season. We’ve asked for a block, so we put her in the middle to block. Tonight she did some setting in a couple of the rotations. … Just being willing to be there and to work hard – she’s got a positive attitude and really contributed.”
With the end of the season, Bears will say goodbye to seniors Jordan Walters, MadeLynn Falco, and Alyssa Pierce.
Hosier said the coaches want to thank their seniors for leading the team.
“Maddy Falco had, tonight, presented herself how her whole career had been: She had some awesome digs that (Regina junior) Reese (Naeve) should have had as kills, but Maddy was able to dig them up. … I know that she’ll go on and probably pursue that (volleyball) career.”
The coach said Waters and Pierce “always have that positive attitude.”
“They’re kind of like those cheerleaders that we always need,” Hosier said. “They don’t necessarily have as much experience on the varsity floor as Maddy has had, but when they’re out there, they keep us positive.”
With the win, Regina moved on to host North Mahaska, 21-1, on Oct. 28.
Highlights
The first set started with an ace serve by senior MadeLynn Falco, then Regina collected the next three points. Spikes by Falco and junior Kennedy Simpson tied the score at three apiece.
But when the Regals regained the serve, they scored six unanswered points with five served by sophomore Adalee Klein before junior Dani Crutchley put up a block to score for the Bears.
Regina earned the ball back and sophomore Nora Wilhelm took the line to lead the Regals to 10 more points, giving the home team a 20-5 lead.
A Regal error started a four-point back-and-forth, then a two-hit error and a Regina error set the score at 23-8. Regina scored once more, then another error gave the ball to Falco again.
Falco served an ace, then the Bears scored on another Regina error.
The teams went point for point – including a spike by Bear junior Briley Kaalberg – to finish the set, giving the Regals a 25-12 win.
In the second set, Regina opened the serving with the two teams going point for point — including a Simpson kill – to a 2-2 tie.
The Regals got two, then a back-and-forth included a kill by junior Alyssa Vargason until a 5-4 score.
Regina regained the serve and gave the serve to sophomore Addison Bollier, who then led the team to a 9-4 lead before West Branch called a timeout.
Bollier served once more before West Branch got the ball back on a four-hit error. Regina regained control for a three-point run that included an ace by senior Ella McLaughlin but then lost the ball on a net serve.
Bear senior Alyssa Pierce slapped down a kill for a 13-7 score, then Regina got two more.
Regina got the edge of a 6-4 back-and-forth with Bear points coming from a Kaalberg spike, a Simpson spike, a team block, and a Vargason tap.
The Regals won the next two points, then Vargason earned another on a kill. Sophomore Lyla Popkes took the line for the next two Bear points as the visitors still trailed by seven, 21-14.
A Regina spike, another Vargason kill, and two more Regal points pushed the home team with one for the set win, 24-16. But a net serve by the hosts delayed that briefly before a Regal kill finished the second set, 25-16.
West Branch served to open the third set, needing a win to survive.
Falco served the first Bear point, then Regina got one, and Simpson delivered a kill.
A net serve gave the ball back to the Regals, which earned a second spike before losing it on an error. The next four points went back-and-forth between the two opponents, then a Regina spike gave the ball to Regal junior Reese Naeve.
Naeve led her team on five-point run that included an ace serve. West Branch called a timeout to kill the momentum, and the home team scored once more before a Bear block brought the ball back to the West Branch side of the net.
The Regals collected two points, the Bears earned a point on a Regina two-hit error, then the home team got two more. A West Branch block put the score at 14-7.
The momentum shifted a bit with the Bears outscoring the Regals, 4-3, on the next run that included a Simpson kill, two West Branch blocks, and a Simpson ace serve.
With the score at 17-11, the Regals scored two, Pierce got a kill, Regina responded in kind, then West Branch got a block and a point off a two-hit penalty.
The gap remained at six, with the hosts up, 20-14.
A Regal spike and net serve, a West Branch error, and a Regina tap got the home team within two points of winning, 23-16.
The final four points came off a back-and-forth that came with a Vargason kill and a Regina kill that gave them the 25-17 set and match victory.
1 2 3 T
Reg 25 25 25 3
WB 12 16 17 0
Regina offense: Ella Keuene 1 error; Reese Naeve 24 kills, 1 error; Addison Bollier 4 assists; Caitlin Martin 2 assists, 14 kills, 5 errors; Nora Wilhelm 38 assists, 1 kill, 2 errors; Ruby Greving 3 kills, 2 errors; Leah Sickels 2 kills. Team totals: 44 assists, 44 kills, 11 errors.
West Branch offense: Lyla Popkes 14 assists, 1 error; Kennedy Simpson 17 assists, 8 kills, 1 error; Ava Burnett 3 assists, 2 kills, 1 error; MadeLynn Falco 3 assists; Briley Kaalberg 7 kills, 5 errors; Alyssa Vargason 10 kills, 2 errors; Dani Crutchley 6 kills, 1 error; Alyssa Pierce 6 kills, 4 errors. Team totals: 37 assists, 39 kills, 15 errors.
Regina defense: Adalee Klein 1 assist, 1 block, 4 digs; Reese Naeve 7 digs; Addison Bollier 24 digs; Ella McLaughlin 11 digs; Caitlin Martin 7 digs; Nora Wilhelm 1 assist, 1 block, 4 digs; Ruby Greving 2 digs. Team totals: 2 assists, 2 blocks, 59 digs.
West Branch defense: Lyla Popkes 4 digs; Kennedy Simpson 11 digs; Ava Burnett 1 solo block, 1 assist, 2 digs; Jordan Waters 1 dig; MadeLynn Falco 19 digs; Addi Finley 6 digs; Briley Kaalberg 1 solo block; Alyssa Vargason 2 digs; Dani Crutchley 15 digs; Alyssa Pierce 1 assist block, 5 digs. Team totals: 2 solo blocks, 2 assists, 65 digs.
Regina serving: Adalee Klein 1 ace, 12-13; Reese Naeve 1 ace, 10-10; Addison Bollier 9-11; Ella McLaughlin 1 ace, 7-9; Caitlin Martin 12-13; Nora Wilhelm 17-17. Team totals: 3 aces, 67-73.
West Branch serving: Lyla Popkes 4 aces, 9-10; Kennedy Simpson 1 aces, 13-15; Ava Burnett 1-1; Jordan Waters 4 aces, 10-11; MadeLynn Falco 2 aces, 12-14; Addi Finley 6-7; Dani Crutchley 2 aces, 14-15. Team totals: 13 aces, 65-73.
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